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I have had a wonderful year in Costa Rica. As my time here comes to a close I would just liketo say how glad I am about everything.This has been the year of my dreams, and I have learned so much. Thanks to everyone who made it possible.

May

If April showers bring May flowers, what do May Flowers bring? May Beetles! And by the hundreds!!!!!!!! I must say I did not enjoying picking 30 off of me yesterday, and they are going to stick around for the rest of the month.

Besides that, I am going to go home in exactly 42 days. I am not sure what to think, other than that I am not ready to leave yet. Having two lives in complicated, it turns out. Either way, I figured that I would check in and say that all is well. I am trying to take every chance that comes my way so that I can see everything that I can.

Things about Costa Rica

There is no army, it`s a peaceful country.

Costa Ricans are very house proud. If there is a tiny bit of dirt or dust on the floor, it must be cleaned, daily. If not...

¨Cold¨ is when it is less than 70 Fahrenheit.

Motorcycles are very popular.

¨Tico Time¨ means that when someone says, ¨get here at eight,¨ everyone gets there at nine-thirty.

Life is short, you only get one on this earth, make it worth it.

People don`t spend their lives trying to get more things, they take care of what they have.

If you go a whole day without eating rice and beans at least once, what happened???

Women usually stay at home once they are married, cleaning, cooking, and taking care of the kids. If they have a job, they do that as well. The man doesn`t share chores with his wife very often, even if she has a job too.

¨Pura Vida¨. Literally translated, it means ¨pure life.¨ It`s somewhat like aloha in Hawaii, it means: hello, goodbye, I`m good, and more.

3 Months Left

Less than 100 days left in Costa Rica! I am going to take advantage of every oportunity I can! Here are some fun facts about my month:

1. A sudden heat wave has stuck Tilaran, I don`t know where it came from, but I want it to go AWAY.

2. Because of this heat wave, I broke down and bought a skirt for school.

3. I am fluent in Spanish!

4. There might be an earthquake in Costa Rica! But far away from my house, luckily.

5. I am still visiting as many places as I can

6. I am tan! I hope it will last.

7. Classes are getting complicated.

8. Life is beautiful.

9. My friends here are amazing.

10. Pura Vida (Pure Life)

February

Hola! All is well down here in Costa Rica. I am completely back to school, and used to my schedule again. I have now been in Costa Rica for 7 months!!!!! I can barely believe it. In some ways it feels like I just got here yesterday, in other ways it feels like I was born here. I guess that`s the problem with having two lives.
Anyways, I remain as crazy as usual. I went to the beach on Valentine`s Day, and plan on going around part of Lake Arenal this weekend. I want to see as much of this beautiful country as I can. Church is going well, every once and a while I sing a solo for church services, which I enjoy thoroughly. School is fine, I wouldn`t say I like being on campus by 7 am, but I deal with it, and learn a lot. My classmates are great, and are already helping me in many ways, helping me understand what`s going on, eternal patience, etc. Although my friends here are not anything like my friends in the USA, my friends here are amazing in their own ways. I hope that everything is going well! I will be home in 4 months!

New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! All is well here. I am happy to be back in Costa Rica, and I am not-so-happy to say that I am half way through my time here. I`m not ready to go home yet. Of course, I miss people, family, friends, my own bed, American food, and all that good stuff, but I know that when I leave Costa Rica I will be gone. Tilaran`s version of winter is being blown away by tons of wind. I`m amazed that the trees, houses, and power lines haven`t fallen over. Anyways, things are wonderful here. My host family and I enjoyed Christmas and New Years. Here are some differences.

In Costa Rica:

-Christmas gifts are more for children, and not that big of a deal.

-Why would I put stuff in my stockings? I don`t even have a fireplace.

- Christmas diner was rice, beans, and chicken.

-New Year´s Eve is a quiet occasion.

-What is a Hannukah? Did you just sneeze? ¨God bless you.¨

-Kwanzaa is a car brand, like Honda, right?

-Two stores in the entire city sold Christmas trees.

-People wore shorts to the Christmas church service.

-Everyone goes to the beach for New Years.

Nicaragua

Hello again! I have been back from Nicaragua for a while now. To tell the truth, I forgot to write about it. Anyways, it was a great trip. Two days after getting back from Panama, I got on a bus to Nicaragua. On the way there I saw huge windmills, and Lake Nicaragua, which contains not only volcanoes, but sharks. Just by driving by the lake, I could see MASSIVE volcanoes. I never saw a shark, but I can`t say I didn`t try. The next day we boated to various islands on the lake, and went on some tours of Granada. The following morning was the most exciting part of the trip. We went to ¨the mouth of hell¨ which happens to be an active volcano with craters, called Volcan Masaya. There were three craters, two of which merged into one gaping whole from which smoke, sand, and rocks are emitted. The other crater seemed a bit safer, until we got close. It is green, with trees and plants, but steep, and there is no form of railing. The edge of the path ends, and if you fall, you die. And, being the fool that I am, I ran around the edge on slippery paths. It was soooooo much fun! the entire trip to Nicaragua was filled with adventure, danger, and just fun. I almost forgot, when I was on the boat visiting islands, some monkeys boarded my boat!

Panama

I went to Panama last week, and had a great time. The bus trips were long, and crossing the border was anything but fun, but the trip was amazing. I went to Panama City, saw the buildings, went to an island, enjoyed the beaches, and saw the Panama Canal and its locks. The Panama Canal is huge, and awesome. It is great that I was able to see the linking point of two oceans. I also enjoyed eating junk food all week. The trip was amazing, and I have made so many memories and friends that will last a lifetime. Just being able to learn another leangauge, visit another country, become part of another culture, etc. is amazing, and I am greatful to be where I am, and to be learning what I am learning. And guess what. I am going to Nicarauga tomorrow!

FYI

Hey Everyone! I will be in both Panama and Nicaragua for the next two weeks. Things are great here, overall. I just want to explain my mysterious abscence =)

Odds and Ends

As school draws to a close, I feel glad that I decided to come for a year. I still have 7 and a half months left!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Everything is going well here. While schoolwork may still be a struggle, I am learning more and more every day. Some people have gone so far as to say that I am almost billingual. While I find this a polite lie, I appreciate the compliments. Within the last month or so, many things have changed. I have become a leader in the youth group, and am in charge of my own small group for Alpha. I have also started to learn how to wind surf at Lake Arenal. I have many new friends, and have learned about the culture. I have also taken more pictures than even I dreamed possible. I find myself truly being a part of the family, as we pass through some economic situations. Finally, the water is back, but now the washer doesn`t work. But everything passes in time. Here are some pictures for you!

Funny things people have told me

1. The Little Mermaid is satanic.

2. When a 17 year old girl dates a 28 year old boy, it`s not a big age difference.

3. A girl is ready to marry once she can cook tortillas.

4. It`s possible, and normal to fit 7 people in a 4 person car.

5. Attending classes is optional.

6. Una cosita grande. ( a big small thing.)

7. People wanted me to buy weed for them at the mall, right in front of the police.

8. You don`t plan on getting married in the next 5 years??????????????

9. We are going to climb up, uphill.

10. You are crazy (directed at me on multiple occasions)

Catching Up

My host sister lost my camera. She borrowed it, motorcycled to the lake, and dropped it at some point along the road. I miss my camera so much, and it`s been less than 24 hours. I also had a bit of a disagreement with my English teacher. He tried to tell me that my answer to a test question was wrong, and that fluent English speakers ¨could not pardon my error.¨ I told him that I am, in fact, a fluent English speaker, and that he was wrong. I angrily pouted, and eventually he gave me the points I deserved. Despite this, school is actually fun here. I have made a lot of friends, and the teachers take pity on me, which is nice.
September 15th is CR`s independence day, and I am excited to celebrate. The schools march through the streets, to celebrate, and I decided that it would be fun to march with my classmates. The practice itself is hard: marching uphill in the heat of Costa Rica, but I think that the experience will be worth it. In addition to this, I am learning how to paint ceramics. I had some nice pictures of the finished product, but my pictures are somewhere in the Costa Rican grass or in a black market auction. I am having a great time, and on the 16th, I will have been here for 2 months. My host family and I are like any normal family, and I am so glad that I got placed here.

Funny Story

This morning I caught up with my friends from the U.S. One of them had a very funny story to tell me, and because he isn`t following my blog, I can tell it. My friend speaks almost no Spanish, and his first days here were very hard for him . AFS tells foreign exchange students to smile, nod, and say yes for the first few days with the family, or at least that is what my friend thought. When he met his family for the first time, he was enthusiastic and happy, even though his family seemed rather sad. He didn`t have a clue what his family was saying, so he continued to nod and smile.
The next day his host family invited him to church. He thought it was rather strange, going to churh on a monday, but he went. When he got to the church, he continued to nod, smile, and be genuinely friendly, even though the people seemed very sad and confused by his actions.
Then my friend noticed the coffin in the middle of the church and he understood. The day before his host parents had been explaining to him that his host grandmother had died, and they had invited him to the funeral. Needless to say, he will not make that mistake again.

Life and the Beach

As of tomorrow I will have been away for a month, and I would like to say that I am completely settled in. I know how to walk to school in under 10 minutes, be at home by curfew, buy things at cheap prices, and live without an iPod and cell phone for a month, what was previously thought to be impossible. Life here is beautiful. I am not sure how, but there must be five more hours in a day because there is always time for everything. My host family and I are getting along very well, and I have made friends both in the youth group and school. The people here are very friendly and I don`t find myself bored very often. 

Monday I went to visit my host grandparents and then my host aunt and uncle. With my host sister, dad, aunt, uncle, and cousin I spent 20 hours (from 2 am to 10 pm) in a hot car going from city to city so that the family could work, and finally the beach. Tilaran signifies wind and water, hence it is colder than most of Costa Rica. Hence, the majority of other cities in Costa Rica feel like an oven. I was not exactly thrilled to squish 6 people into a four person truck in the very hot climate of Costa Rica, but it was worth it for the beach.

I spent hours and hours in almost deserted beaches, and was thrilled to swim in the clear water. The water warm and the beaches are clean. There are lots of tourists in the area, and it is easy to tell who they are because they speak English. Also, by the beach are a variety of animals. There were wild monkeys in the trees and a huge spider. If the spider bites you and you are not allergic, it gives you a bad burn; if you are allergic, you die. Fortunately, the spider did not bite me, considering it was about two feet from my foot. Other than the trip to the beach, I have spent most of my time with my friends and family here in Costa Rica. I am excited for the rest of my year here and plan to update my blog when I can. ¡Hasta Luego!

School and Arenal

My first week was gerat, getting to know my host family and buying things for school. I walked to a cross with my host brother, sister, and cousin. It was a couple hundred feet up in the air on a hill, but I couldn`t resist. This week, I started school at Liceo Maurilio Alvarado Vargas. It`s a bit different from my school back in the U.S. Here, when I have a free period, I can leave the school, and I get an hour to go home for lunch. It`s really nice to have an open campus, and I think it`s worth it, even though I have to be at school by 7am. The other students in my class are really nice, and have all helped me in various ways: walking me to class, helping me with notes, and they are really inviting.

Also, my host family and I have enjoyed a lot of time at Lake Arenal, which is 20 minutes away by the family morortcycle. It is absolutely beautiful there, and I never wanted to leave. Also, I have to say, it was quite a strange feeling, sharing a lake with water snakes and crocodiles. However, my biggest foe here has been the bugs. For example, there were two very large spiders in the house yesterday. However, Costa rica is beautiful, bugs or not, and I have pictures to prove it.

Mi Familia

I am so happy about my family. God is great, so great. My host father is a pastor for the protestant church that we live next door to. My host father and mother are fair, with their rules and are very loving. My curfew is 10 at night, which is great here. My host brother is very nice, and speaks some English, so between the two languages we can get the point accross. My host sister and I share a room, and she is great as well. I just finished unpacking all of my stuff, and I have to say that I did not pack a lot.
I will be attending a school here in Tilaran that is within walking distance, which is wonderful. I will be a junior for the first six months of my stay here, and I will be a senior starting in February. My host sister and I start school a week from tomorrow, and I am very excited because the classes that I will be taking sound awesome. Also, it looks like I am going to get the Science and English credits that I need for the year.
Tomorrow I am going to buy school supplies and clothes. because I go to a public school that requires a uniform. As of right now, I think that I am going to sleep. One last thing: my house has computers, and I may use them, which is great. Once again, thanks to God for all of this.
Feliz en mi Casa Nueva,
Hannah

I'm here!

I would like to say sorry for the grammer and spelling mistakes I will make. This keyboard confuses me and I am rushed on time. However, I'm in Costa Rica and it is beautiful, and it is hot. Right now I am at oreintation, and I am tired. We got in at midnight last night, and everyone is about to fall asleep. There are so many foreign kids here, it is amazing to meet people from different countries. Tomorrow, I am going to meet my host family, unpack, and get ready for the year. The only scary thing is the swine flu scare. Although, we get to start school a week later because of that, which is great. I have to go now, but I have to say that I am thrilled to be here. I already miss my friends and family, but Costa Rica is such a great place to be, that you really can't be sad here.

Happily in humidity,

~Hannah

Almost There!

Guess how many days until I leave? Four. I remember being excited about having only six months left. Time flies! I have finally forced myself to pack, and I was sad to find that the kitchen sink did not fit in my suitcase, mostly because there was too much sunblock and bug spray in the way.

I am glad to be going, but I am going to miss everyone. I know that I have the best parents in the world, because not everyone could send their only child away, and not see them for a year. God sure knew what he was doing when he gave the stork this particular sarcastic pink bundle and told the bird to fly to my parents. It can't be easy, but I am glad that they are letting me go, at least for these next 11 months.

On another note, I would like to say that I am less terrified than I thought I would be. I was fully expecting to be breathing into a brown bag by now, but I am far from it. I am ready to go. I have the suitcase tags and everything. 

I have no idea when I will be able to update next. I don't know how often I will have access to internet. Who knows? Either way, the adventure is about to begin!

La Familia

Apparently, I forgot to talk about who I will be living with. Oops! I will be living with a family of four. I have a host father, mother, older brother who is 21, and sister who is 17. I have a feeling that this is going to be great. Some foreign exchange students have problems with their host families, and decide to switch and live with someone else, but I am not too worried about this happening to me. I have a bit of information on the characteristics of the people who I will be living with, and they sound awesome. They like to travel, and seem to be really active, so I am sure that I will have a great time with them. They are also Christian. I consider myself very lucky to be living with a Christian family, and am thrilled to meet them in a month. I leave on July 16th, and will get into Costa Rica on the 17th. At that point, I have a two day orientation, and I will meet my family on the 19th, and move in. I don't think that the words thrilled, excited, etc. can even begin to cover this. Of course, I will miss my friends and family, but I feel like God is leading me to go here, and so I go. I would like to say a big thank you to all of the people who are helping me to get to Costa Rica, and for all of the people who are praying for me while I am down there. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How long are you going for?

Eleven months.

Are your parents going with you?

Umm, not that I know of.

Are you scared?

Not yet. Ask me right before I leave.

Will your family speak English?

I don't know yet, but I will find out when I get there.

Will your family speak Costa Rican?

They will speak Spanish, if that's what you mean.

Are you going to go to school there?

Yes. It's part of the foreign exchange student experience, especially the student part. =)

Aren't you going to miss your friends and family?

Yes. Very, very much.

When do you leave?

Somewhere around the 15th of July.